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When we learn English verbs, we need to learn verb conjugation for different tenses. For example, the verb “do” can be used as “do – did – done”. However, in Chinese, verbs do not need to be changed, no matter what tense the sentence is.
Sounds great, right? You don’t have to spend time learning dreaded verb-changing rules! But how does the Chinese language express tense?
Mandarin verbs do not change form to mark English-style tenses. Time expressions, context, aspect markers and modal verbs work together to show when something happens and how an event is viewed. A past event does not automatically require 了, and 了 does not automatically mean “past tense”.
Present-time and habitual situations
The first thing you should know is time adverbs. Some of the words you may have already learned in Tell Time in Chinese Lesson 2.
Commonly Used Time Adverbs for Simple Present Tense
|
Chinese Characters |
Chinese Pinyin |
Meanings |
|---|---|---|
|
经常/常常 |
jīng cháng/cháng cháng |
often, frequently |
|
总是 |
zǒng shì |
always |
|
有时 |
yǒu shí |
sometimes |
|
每天 |
měi tiān |
every day |
|
每（个）周/每（个）星期 |
měi (gè) zhōu/ měi (gè ) xīng qī |
every week |
|
每（个）月 |
měi (gè) yuè |
every month |
|
每年 |
měi nián |
every year |
There is one word you should pay attention to, which is “每(měi)”. It means “every” in Chinese. This word is often used in the present tense.
Example Sentences
|
Chinese Characters |
我每天8点起床。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ měi tiān bā diǎn qǐ chuáng |
|
Meanings |
I get up at 8:00 every day. |
|
Chinese Characters |
我的老师经常带我们去公园。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ de lǎo shī jīng cháng dài wǒ men qù gōng yuán |
|
Meanings |
My teacher often takes us to the park. |
Aspect Particle for Something in Progress
在 (zài) and 正在 (zhèngzài), placed before a verb, can indicate an action in progress. 着 (zhe), placed after a verb, often describes an ongoing state or accompanying activity. It is not interchangeable with 在: 她穿着红色的衣服 describes her wearing red, whereas 她正在穿衣服 describes her putting clothes on.
Example Sentences
|
Chinese Characters |
我（正）在吃饭。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ (zhèng) zài chī fàn |
|
Meanings |
I am eating. |
|
Chinese Characters |
我们（正）在开会。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ men (zhèng) zài kāi huì |
|
Meanings |
We are having a meeting. |
|
Chinese Characters |
她穿着一件红色的衣服。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
tā chuān zhe yī jiàn hóng sè de yī fú |
|
Meanings |
She is in red. |
|
Chinese Characters |
爸爸正（在）打着电话呢。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
bà ba zhèng (zài) dǎ zhe diàn huà ne |
|
Meanings |
Father is talking on the phone. |
Chinese Time Adverbs for Something in Progress
If you want to express that the action is currently in progress or ongoing, use the following adverbs:
|
Chinese Characters |
Chinese Pinyin |
Meanings |
|---|---|---|
|
现在 |
xiàn zài |
now |
|
此刻 |
cǐ kè |
at the moment |
|
目前 |
mù qián |
at present, currently |
Sentence Examples
|
Chinese Characters |
我现在在学习中文。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ xiàn zài zài xuéxí Zhōngwén |
|
Meanings |
I am learning Chinese now. |
|
Chinese Characters |
此刻你有什么想说的？ |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
cǐ kè nǐ yǒu shén me xiǎng shuō de? |
|
Meanings |
What do you want to say at the moment? |
Past-time situations
Commonly Used Time Adverbs for Past Tense
A time expression commonly appears before the verb, either before or after the subject: 昨天我去了公园 and 我昨天去了公园 both place the event yesterday. English also allows time expressions in different positions.
|
Chinese Characters |
Chinese Pinyin |
Meanings |
|---|---|---|
|
以前 |
yǐ qián |
before |
|
过去 |
guòqù |
in the past |
|
曾经 |
céng jīng |
once |
|
刚刚 |
gānggāng |
just now |
|
刚才 |
gāngcái |
few moments ago |
|
……年前 |
… nián qián |
…… years ago |
|
去年 |
qù nián |
last year |
|
……（个）月前 |
…(gè) yuè qián |
…… months ago |
|
上（个）月 |
shàng (gè) yuè |
last month |
|
……（个）周前 |
…(gè) zhōu qián |
…… weeks ago |
|
上（个）周/星期 |
shàng (gè) zhōu/ xīng qī |
last week |
|
……天前 |
tiān qián |
…… days ago |
|
前天 |
qián tiān |
the day before yesterday |
|
昨天 |
zuó tiān |
yesterday |
|
昨晚 |
zuó wǎn |
last night |
Example Sentences
|
Chinese Characters |
我三年前开始学中文。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ sān nián qián kāi shǐ xué zhōng wén |
|
Meanings |
I started to learn Chinese 3 years ago. |
|
Chinese Characters |
我以前是名医生。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ yǐ qián shì míng yī shēng |
|
Meanings |
I was a doctor before. |
|
Chinese Characters |
昨晚我和男朋友去看了电影。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
zuó wǎn wǒ hé nán péng yǒu qù kàn le diànyǐng |
|
Meanings |
I went to see a movie with my boyfriend last night. |
|
Chinese Characters |
上个周我去出差了。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
shàng gè zhōu wǒ qù chū chāi le |
|
Meanings |
I went on a business trip last week |
Aspect and past events
The aspect marker 了 (le) after a verb presents an event as realised or completed in context. 过 (guo), normally unstressed as an aspect marker, indicates previous experience. They have different uses; adding either one is not a general formula for creating the past tense. Sentence-final 了 can indicate a change of situation. Some constructions combine 过 and 了, but they are not a required pair.
了(le) is used to indicate the completion of an action. In a similar way, 过 (guo) is used to show that something has happened before. And we also can use “…过了 (guo)” together, to indicate that the status of an action has been completed.
Use 没 or 没有 before the verb to negate an event that has not happened. For “never”, 从来 means “ever/at any time” and is normally combined with a negative: 我从来没有去过中国 means “I have never been to China”. 从来 does not simply mean “in the past”.
Besides, the aspect articles can be used both with or without the adverb of time.
Example Sentences
|
Chinese Characters |
我去过长城。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ qù guo cháng chéng |
|
Meanings |
I have been to the Great Wall. |
|
Chinese Characters |
我们以前见过。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ men yǐ qián jiàn guo |
|
Meanings |
We have met before. |
|
Chinese Characters |
我们分手了。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒmen fēn shǒu le |
|
Meanings |
We broke up. |
|
Chinese Characters |
汤姆看了那本书。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
Tāng mǔ kàn le nà běn shū |
|
Meanings |
Tom has read that book. |
|
Chinese Characters |
今年暑假我没有回家。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
jīn nián shǔ jià wǒ méi yǒu huí jiā |
|
Meanings |
I did not go home during this summer holiday. |
|
Chinese Characters |
这是从来没有过的大新闻。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
zhè shì cóng lái méi yǒu guo de dà xīn wén |
|
Meanings |
This is major news about something unprecedented. |
Future-time situations
Commonly Used Time Adverbs for Future Tense
Some time adverbs in this chart can be paired with the adverbs in past tense part, for easy memorizing, you can match them together.
|
Chinese Characters |
Chinese Pinyin |
Meanings |
|---|---|---|
|
以后 |
yǐ hòu |
afterwards |
|
将来 |
jiāng lái |
in the future |
|
下次 |
xià cì |
next time |
|
待会儿 |
dāi huì(r) |
in a little while |
|
等会（儿） |
děng huì (er) |
in a little while |
|
……年后 |
…nián hòu |
… years later |
|
明年 |
míng nián |
next year |
|
……（个）月后 |
…(gè) yuè hòu |
…months later |
|
下个月 |
xià gè yuè |
next month |
|
……（个）周/星期后 |
… (gè) zhōu / xīng qī hòu |
… weeks later |
|
下个周/星期 |
xià gè zhōu / xīng qī |
next week |
|
……天后 |
…tiān hòu |
…days later |
|
明天 |
míng tiān |
tomorrow |
|
后天 |
hòu tiān |
the day after tomorrow |
|
明晚 |
míng wǎn |
tomorrow night |
Example Sentences
|
Chinese Characters |
下次请早点来。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
xià cì qǐng zǎo diǎn lái |
|
Meanings |
Please come earlier next time. |
|
Chinese Characters |
将来我想给爸妈买个大房子。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
jiāng lái wǒ xiǎng gěi bà mā mǎi gè dà fáng zi |
|
Meanings |
I want to buy a big house for my parents in the future. |
|
Chinese Characters |
我以后想做一名老师。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ yǐ hòu xiǎng zuò yī míng lǎo shī |
|
Meanings |
I want to be a teacher in the future. |
|
Chinese Characters |
我妈妈下个月要来看我。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ mā mā xià gè yuè yào lái kàn wǒ |
|
Meanings |
My mom will come to see me next month. |
Modal verbs for future reference
要 (yào), 会 (huì) and 将 (jiāng) are modal or auxiliary verbs, not future aspect particles. They can refer to future events, but they are not freely interchangeable.
要 often expresses a plan, intention or impending action; 会 can express a prediction or learned ability; 将 is a more formal way to refer to a future event. 将 does not by itself mean that something will happen immediately. Context and time expressions determine the intended meaning.
|
Chinese Characters |
Chinese Pinyin |
Meanings |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
要 |
yào |
will / be going to |
want/plan/intend |
|
会 |
huì |
will / be going to |
confident prediction something has a high possibility to happen |
|
将 |
jiāng |
will / be going to |
future reference; often formal |
不 generally negates habits, intentions and many states; 没(有) commonly negates realised events or possession. They are not interchangeable. Compare 我不去 (I am not going / I do not go) with 我没去 (I did not go).
Example Sentences
|
Chinese Characters |
我要走啦! |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ yào zǒu la |
|
Meanings |
I am going to leave! |
|
Chinese Characters |
我明天是不会去的。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wǒ míng tiān shì bù huì qù de |
|
Meanings |
I won’t go tomorrow. |
|
Chinese Characters |
研讨会将于下周五举行。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
yán tǎo huì jiāng yú xià zhōu wǔ jǔ xíng |
|
Meanings |
The seminar will be held next Friday. |
|
Chinese Characters |
你以后不要再迟到了。 |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
nǐ yǐ hòu bù yào zài chí dào le |
|
Meanings |
Please don’t be late again in the future. |
|
Chinese Characters |
未来，人类会灭绝吗? |
|
Chinese Pinyin |
wèi lái, rén lèi huì miè jué ma |
|
Meanings |
Will human beings die out in the future? |
A Few Extras
“了”often appear in sentences about the past, but it can also appear with present or future actions. It’s not always a tense marker. This is quite hard to grasp, but try not to overthink it in the early stages.
Another one you should take note is that “会” “要” “将” these three auxiliary verbs do not always indicate future tense. As always, it depends on the context. One good example is “会” which may also be used as a modal verb “can”.
Keep Practicing…
The best way to learn a language is to keep practicing. You can try to practice these sentences above. Listen to and read as much Chinese as you can (that is nearly always the best thing you can do for your Chinese) and try to speak them out!
The more you speak, the more opportunity you’ll get to practice them and the more perfect your Chinese will be! If you know any native Chinese-speakers, try and practice what you’ve learned with them.
Good luck and have fun!
